Live blog: Cowboys beat Dolphins 20-19 on last-second field goal

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dolphins played tough defense for 57 minutes, but couldn’t stop the Cowboys when it mattered most.

The Cowboys drove 50 yards with three minutes to go, and Dan Bailey kicked a TK field goal to give Dallas a 20-19 victory and ending the Dolphins’ three-game winning streak.

The Dolphins had the Cowboys on the ropes, but were doomed by a poor performance in the Red Zone. They failed to score a touchdown on four trips inside the 20, instead settling for a field goal. Their only touchdown was a 35-yard bomb from Matt Moore to Brandon Marshall in the third quarter.

The Dolphins once again dominated the game on the stat sheet, holding the ball for over 31:28 and out-gaining the Cowboys 352-300. But the Cowboys scored two touchdowns inside the Red Zone, and that was the difference.

Matt Moore had a solid second half to finish 19-of-32 passing for 288 yards and a touchdown, but had two crucial misses on third down. One throw behind Charles Clay prevented the Dolphins from scoring a touchdown in the third quarter. Another throw behind Davone Bess forced the Dolphins to punt with three minutes left in the fourth.

The defense held Tony Romo to 226 yards and intercepted him twice, but the offense only scored three points off the turnovers.

Time to head down to the locker room for instant reaction. Thanks for stopping by today!

The Dolphins have a tough task today in facing a hot Cowboys team on the road with only three days of preparation, but they may have caught a break.

The Cowboys will be without two key players today — receiver Miles Austin, who will miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury, and No. 2 cornerback Mike Jenkins, who also is battling a hamstring injury.

Laurent Robinson has played well as Austin’s fill-in, with a touchdown in four consecutive games, but the Cowboys’ secondary could be in trouble without Jenkins. Nickel cornerback Orlando Scandrick will move to the outside, and Alan Ball will now be the No. 3 cornerback. Receivers Brian Hartline and Davone Bess could be in for more opportunities today.

For the Dolphins, no real surprises on the inactive list because we already knew that kicker Dan Carpenter is ruled Out for today’s game, and Shayne Graham will handle the kicking duties for the second straight game.

For the Dolphins, Olshansky (calf) being inactive means Tony McDaniel and Phillip Merling will both be active today. And Ryan Cook is the eighth offensive lineman instead of Jerry. Otherwise, no other real lineup changes. Expect Tyrone Culver and Reshad Jones to split snaps at free safety again.

For the Cowboys, in addition to Miles and Jenkins, they’ll also be without Fiammetta, their lead blocker. That could make life a little more difficult for running back DeMarco Murray.

That’s about all the news we have for now. We’ll do the regular drill today — updates after each quarter (in chronological order), and an instant reaction after the game.

The good news is that the Dolphins lead 3-0 after the first quarter. That’s no small feat when playing on the road on short rest.

The bad news is they might be kicking themselves later in the game for not scoring more points in the first quarter. The Dolphins had fantastic field position on their three drives — starting on their own 42, the 50 and the Cowboys’ 26 — yet only managed one field goal. The Dolphins got the ball on two of the drives thanks to interceptions by Vontae Davis, his second in three weeks, and Sean Smith, his first of the season.

Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas each rushed three times for 18 yards, but Matt Moore couldn’t get going in the first quarter. He completed just 1 of 4 passes for two yards, and the Dolphins are 0-for-3 on third down. Moore fumbled a snap on one third down, which led to a sack, and threw out of the end zone from the 13 yard line, though he probably had more time to scramble and make a play.

Tony Romo hadn’t thrown an interception in November entering the game, and had gone 126 snaps without one. Today, he threw two interceptions in his first five throws.

As we type this, the Cowboys just punted at the start of the second quarter, and the Dolphins take over at their own 11.

Second Quarter

Matt Moore and the offensive line have had better days.

The Cowboys’ defensive line has given the Dolphins fits so far today, sacking Moore three times in the first half as Dallas took a 10-6 lead into halftime. The Cowboys also have five tackles for loss.

But Moore also has had hands of stone today. He has fumbled three snaps today, and at least two of them were his fault. Mike Pouncey’s snaps have been a little high, but twice Moore let the ball slip right through his hands when lined up in the shotgun.

The first time was no big deal — he recovered the ball in the first quarter and took a sack. But the second one proved costly, as the Cowboys recovered the fumble on Miami’s 5-yard line. Romo wasted little time, hitting Laurent Robinson for a 5-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining in the half. It was the Dolphins’ first touchdown allowed in 14 quarters.

The Dolphins wasted another good scoring opportunity when Moore took an 8-yard sack on third down and Graham missed a 47-yard field goal, but the Dolphins finished the half on a high note when Graham hit a 28-yard field goal at the buzzer. The drive was set up by a beautiful kickoff return by Clyde Gates, who took it out past the 40.

Overall, Moore is 9-of-16 for 96 yards and the one lost fumble. Brandon Marshall is the only player with multiple catches, and has four for 68 yards. Reggie Bush has five rushes for 32 yards, while Thomas still has three for 18.

Tony Romo picked up his performance a little bit in the second quarter, and finished the half 9-for-16 for 82 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. DeMarco Murray has also been running hard, with 14 carries for 54 yards.

Kevin Burnett leads the defense with four solo tackles, but the Dolphins have been quiet on defense. They had zero sacks, one quarterback hit and two tackles for loss in the first half.

Third Quarter

Stephen Ross wanted big plays on offense this year. Matt Moore gave him big plays in the third quarter.

Moore connected on three passes of 34 yards or greater in the quarter, leading the Dolphins to 10 points and a 16-10 lead after three quarters. A 34-yard pass to Reggie Bush set the Dolphins up for a field goal (though Moore’s high throw to Charles Clay at the 5-yard line prevented the Dolphins from getting in the end zone).

And on the next possession, he followed a 41-yard pass to Brian Hartline on third-and-13 with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall, who made an incredible catch despite Terrence Newman draped all over him. It was Marshall’s third touchdown of the year, and his longest as a Dolphin.

But the Cowboys drove 77 yards at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. As we type this, Romo just hit Robinson for an 18-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone to put the Cowboys up 17-16. Fourteen minutes left in the game, should be an exciting finish.